the noble Lord's conduct in the cafe of the action, it was, in his poor opinion, great, manly, and brilliant. He had, with an inferior force offered battle to an enemy, who had the advantage of the wind; and he had maintained the dig nity of the British flag in circumftances which would have, made a lefs gallant man tremble for his fafety.

Governor Johnstone faid in reply, that the fact of the Gov. Johntransports he had mentioned not as a charge by any means, ftone. but as a mistake. The circumftance in the action to which he alluded, had not been answered the fact of Admiral Bartington's divifion having turned their fterns to the enemy, and gone four leagues to leeward. He defired to know if this fact was not fo, and yet he begged to be understood that he mentioned this, not as a charge on Lord Howe, as he did. not know but this, as well as the cafe of the tranfports, might be owing to accident.

North.

Lord North then rofe, and declared that he had not the Lord moft diftant inclination to oppose the Addrefs, or move an amendment; he had no material objection to the terms of the motion, and it must be a very confequential amendment indeed, that could counterbalance, in his eftimation, the advantages refulting from unanimity, at this moft-important crifis; he thought it of the laft importance that they should lay, their fentiments at the foot of the throne, without oppofition or amendment. He fhould not have arifen to offer his opinion on the prefent queftion at all, but that fome things had been thrown out in the courfe of debate, by which he was perfonally affected, and there were fome expreffions in the propofed Addrefs, that feemed to require explanation. With refpect to the independency of America, he was free to acknowledge, that after the calamitous events of war, and the vote paffed in the laft feffion of Parliament, he was not fan. guine enough to hope a conclufion of the war on terms confiftent with the future dependency of our colonies, but at the fame time he could not think with the honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox) that a recognition of their independence should be made without an equivalent, nor could he affent to a propofition of the fame honourable member, that in fuch a deriliction of our claim to fupremacy we gave no more than they already poffeffed: True it was they had poffeffion of a large territory, but we had garrifons there which muft of course on fuch an admiffion be furrendered, and he should never think the formal final renunciation of our ancient right of fovereignty over that country, to be a ceffion of no value; VOL. IX.

E

he

he should rather think it an act of fuch confequence as not to be warrantable without a very material confideration; without at least making it the price of peace. He also differed extremely with that honourable gentleman with refpect to the heartfelt regret expreffed by the Sovereign on this unhappy difmemberment of the empire. Surely a heart filled with patriotic feelings like that of his Majefty, and most earneftly folicitous for the welfare of his people, could not bat experience the deepest forrow at an act fo calamitous to this country. America was not only one of the brighteft jewels in the crown; but the most important poffeffion to the commerce of this country, and the royal forrow was not the ebullition of perfonal grief for private fuffering The fenfations of that royal perfonage were truly thofe of a patriot King, and he was affured that his Majefty felt himself much lefs interefted in this facrifice than his people. His Lordship then adverted to the treaty of peace now in agitation with the house of Bourbon; he was ready to believe that it might be difadvantageous for his Majefty's fervants to ftate the difficulties now ftanding in the way of that treaty before the Houfe, and, if fo, they were commendable for withholding them; when time was ripe for fuch a communication, he doubted not they would embrace the earlieft opportunity of confulting the legislature; but, in the mean time, it might not be improper to declare, that he, for one, would not confent to any terms derogatory to the honour and intereft of this country. Certain it was, that our fituation was to be regarded, but that of our enemies fhould also be taken into the account, and fuch terms agreed on, as, from the general relative fituation of the contending powers, were on all fides juft and reasonable. To terms of peace, formed upon fuch a fyftem, he would readily and chearfully affent, but should France or Spain be arrogant and unjuft in their demands, as he had heard it whifpered they were, fhould they require advantages, to which neither by juftice nor the event of war they were entitled, he, and he trufted every man in that House, and the nation at large, would unanimoufly, ftrenuously, zealoufly concur in profecuting the war with vigour. He wish'd Minifters, therefore, to understand most explicitly on what terms they were likely to find unanimous fupport; it would be found either in an honourable peace, fuch as our fituation entitles us to expect, or in a vigorous war. In regard to the ceffion of Gibraltar, on which much had been faid, he would

not

not go fo far as to affert that that fortrefs was ineftimable, or that it ought in no poffible cafe to be given up. If a peace could no otherwife be obtained, he would not pofitively fay that such a facrifice ought not to be made, but this he must beg leave to fay, that the price of it fhould be a large one, and that Minifters would be totally unjuftifiable in refigning a poft fo honourable, fo dear, and fo useful to this country, except they get an equivalent in fomething of the highest importance. He believed there were few things in the poffeffion of Spain that could form an adequate compenfation for the loss of Gibraltar; fhe might indeed give territory infinitely more extenfive, and of more intrinfic value; but could the give any other impenetrable fortrefs? Let Ministers recollect, that this poft was now clearly proved an invulnerable one, and confider where we can get another of the fame quality. Let it also be confidered how extremely folicitous the Court of Spain is to obtain it, and that in every bargain there is to be taken into the account, not only what the feller is to lofe, but what the buyer is to gain. He fincerely believed there was no poffeffion of the crown of Spain which would not be given as the purchase of Gibraltar. Whether fuch a ceffion was actually in contemplation or not, he could not tell but he again reminded Minifters that it became them to be cautious, and duly confider the importance of what they bargained for.

His Lordship alfo adverted to the affairs in the West and Eaft-Indies, and threw out fome hints to Adminiftration on the settlement of our interefts in thofe quarters, fhould a treaty of peace be concluded. France, he faid, would not, in his opinion, chufe to treat on the footing of uti poffidetis. It was true we had loft fome iflands in the Weft-Indies, but we had taken St. Lucia, which was an eye fore to the French iflands; we had alfo difpoffeffed them of their fettlements connected with their fifheries on the Banks of Newfoundland, and ftripped them of all their continental pofts in India: he did not know, therefore, but a treaty on the footing of exchange might be moft beneficial to France, and poffibly for all parties. An honourable gentleman, who had spoken carly in the debate, had faid, that the acceding to the provifional terms took America off our hands, and left us but three powers, France, Spain, and Holland, to contend with. He wifhed fincerely that fuch might prove to be the fact, but he could not regard it as extremely probable. Impoffible as it was for him to enter upon a difcuffion of terms,

E 2

with

with the nature and extent of which his Majefty's Minifters had not acquainted the House, he could not argue in what manner America could be confidered as no longer engaged in a war with us, when he had declared, fhe could make no definitive peace, till France had agreed till France had agreed upon the terms. He was in hopes his Majefty's Minifters had proceeded with a treaty for a general peace as that was not the cafe, he feared this country had tied herself down to make a ceflion of confiderable importance, whenever the war fhould be brought to a conclufion, without having any equivalent conceffion on the part of any other of the belligerent powers with whom Great Britain was engaged in hoftilities. A matter far different in his idea from the defcription given it by the honourable gentleman to whom he had alluded, who had called the acknowledgment of the independence of America a matter little fhort of a present peace with America.

After thefe and other curfory remarks, his Lordship again, in the most pointed and animated language, cautioned Adminiftration against concluding a peace from timid or desponding principles, or on any terms worse than our fituation, liberality, and condition, fairly confidered, rendered necefiary. We have heard, faid he, of fufpicions and jealoufies; we have been told that a noble Lord high in office is fufpected as to his fincerity by the belligerent powers, and that their opinion of him has retarded the conclufion of peace: but let it go forth to the whole world, not as the fentiments of one individual, or one fet of men, but of every man within this Houfe, and of the nation at large, that in the queftion between France and us there is no difference of opinion amongst us. We are unanimous in demanding an honourable peace, or a vigorous war; we will treat with our enemies on fair, equitable terms, but no other; and if they, in the hour of infolence or imaginary power, exact degrading, or hard conditions of peace, we are determined to profecute war to the utmoft, with our lives aud fortunes. In the moment, however, that a speedy peace was, and must be the general with of that Houfe, he begged leave to remind them that we were in a state of actual war, and that every proceeding in Parliament, however directed towards the furtherance of a treaty of pacification, ought to be grounded on the circumftance of our being yet at war; fince the only probable means of bringing that war to a fafe, a happy, and an honourable iffue, was to affure his Majefty, and by that affurance to convince the world, that the Parliament of Great Britain

were

were determined to ftand by their Sovereign, and fupport him at all hazards, fooner than accede to any terms of pacification that were in the leaft degree difgraceful or difhonourable. With regard to the provifional articles that had been agreed upon with America, his Lordship faid, the matter did not appear to him altogether in the fame point of view in which it was evident it had ftruck others. It put us not into any precife fituation, either of war or peace, which to him was neither very agreeable, nor very aufpicious.

He then proceeded to anfwer Mr. Fox's affertions on the ftate of the navy. It was a little extraordinary that the fame honourable gentleman, who had always reprefented the state of our naval power as wretched and alarming to the well wifhers of this country, and who had, when he came into administration fome months ago, drawn a picture of our national defence in that Houfe fufficient to make every man tremble, fhould now ftoutly affirm, that we had a navy able to combat with the united flects of the House of Bourbon! and that fo wonderful a difference fhould be effected merely by a change in the Admiralty department! All the advantages we had obtained, even the glorious victory of Lord Rodney, was owing to the prefent firft Lord of the Admiralty. He muft beg leave to remind the honourable gentleman, that it was late in the month of March, he had fome reafon to remember the time, when the happy change in Administration took place. On the 12th of April our inemorable victory in the Weft-Indies was obtained; furely that fuccefs could not be claimed by the present Board of Admiralty! That it was owing, under Providence, chiefly to the valour and conduct of our brave commanders and feamen; he had no doubt it was certainly true, we had a fleet more numerous and better appointed than that of the enemy, though the honourable gentleman had much about the fame time afferted, we were not able to face the Houfe of Bourbon in any quarter of the globe, and fince, that fortunate event we had rifen in the fcale of maritime power. Surely it was in a great measure owing to that caufe, for of thirty-four fhips of the line under Count de Graffe on that memorable day, eight fail of the line had been taken, three had afterwards foundered at fea, and two were for ever difabled, nine more of their fhips had been obliged to return to Europe for repairs, and twelve more now repairing in Bofton harbour, in a miserable fituation. But it had been faid, 66 great dili gence had been used in fitting out new fhips :"

he did not

doubt